Champions of Change

Champions of Change: Agriculture Champions Of Change

Champions of Change for Agriculture are leaders from across the country who are doing extraordinary things to build the bench for the next generation of farming and ranching.

Ryan and Tiffany Batalden are fifth generation beginning farmers in Cottonwood County, Minnesota. Along with their three young children – Finn, Lilly and Stella – they grow certified organic corn...

Bill Bridgeforth is a fourth generation farmer in Tanner, Alabama. He is employed by Darden Bridgeforth & Sons, which grows cotton, corn, wheat, soybeans, and canola using a variety of cutting...

Jake Carter operates Southern Belle Farm, which is located just 30 miles outside of Atlanta in McDonough, Georgia. This farm consists of U-Pick strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and peaches...

Kristin Kubiszak is the retail manager for Brookside Farms, a 5th generation family farm located in southwest Michigan. After obtaining her Bachelor’s degree in social work from Cornerstone...

Lee Haynes is an egg farmer from North Alabama. While Lee was at the University of Alabama, he studied business. Upon graduation, Lee returned to the farm and has held a key management role in his...

Melinda is the manager of the UDairy Creamery at the University of Delaware’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Melinda leads the student interns and employees through their hands-on...

Lindsey Lusher Shute is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the National Young Farmers Coalition (NYFC). Led by young farmers, NYFC advocates for policy change, provides business services,...

Adam McClung was raised on a cow calf operation in central Arkansas. He went to Eastern Oklahoma State College and Oklahoma State University on Livestock Judging Scholarships, receiving his...

Fabiola is a Burundian refugee farmer and a single mother of five who speaks five languages. In 2013, Fabiola was a founding member of the Immigrant Farmer Marketing Cooperative, a USDA-Rural...

Quint Pottinger is the owner of Affinity Farms, a mixed row-crop and herb farm in Kentucky. He pursued his education at the University of Kentucky, majoring in agriculture economics and upon...

Jesus Rodriguez was born in Los Angeles, California the son of Mexican and El Salvadoran immigrants. His family moved to the Chelan Valley in Central Washington State before he entered school to...

Vena A-dae Romero, who is Cochiti Puebloan and Kiowa Indian, was born in Cochiti Pueblo, New Mexico, as a granddaughter of a Pueblo farmer. She attended the University Of Arkansas School Of Law’s...

Pierre Sleiman is the founder and CEO of Go Green Agriculture, an innovative company that grows produce inside climate-controlled greenhouses using hydroponics, a method of growing plants without...

Beth Tharp is a second generation farmer who, along with her husband and parents, owns and operates Legan Livestock and Grain, a commercial swine, corn, and soybean farm in West Central Indiana....

Desiree Wineland was born in Sweden and moved to the United States, where she became a US citizen and served in the United States Army. She earned a M.S. in International Relations from St Mary’s...

Jacob Hunt is the managing partner at Windy Brow Farms, LLC, and The Cow's Brow Creamery in Newton, New Jersey, and while in college developed community outreach for the UDairy Creamery. After...